 |
|
Researcher working on destruction of chemical weapons
September 25, 2008America's war on terror includes fighting the dark side of deadly chemical agents, and Texas A&M University chemist Dr. Frank Raushel is helping with the fight by developing an enzyme that might neutralize one such chemical agent, the organophosphates.
Synthetic organophosphates started their journey as insecticides in the 1930s but soon made their way into the dangerous alleys of chemical warfare during World War II. Raushel, who has been working on detoxification of organophosphates for nearly 10 years, says that the toxic properties of the organophosphate nerve agents are a serious threat to the health and well being of civilized societies.
Although outlawed by several international treaties, some countries have used chemical agents during times of war. In 1988, the Iraqi Kurdish village of Halabja was exposed to multiple chemical agents, killing about 5,000 of the town's 50,000 residents. After the incident, traces of mustard gas and the organophosphates sarin, tabun and VX were discovered.
Raushel, the Davidson Professor of Science at Texas A&M, has been awarded a four-year grant of $1.2 million by the National Institutes of Health to carry out his work on organophosphates.
Organophosphates are neurotoxins - they attack the nervous system by blocking the function of the enzyme acetylcholine esterase, which carries nerve signals. When organs such as the lungs do not receive appropriate nerve signals, control is lost over respiratory muscles, and it usually results in death by asphyxiation. Today, some classes of organophosphates are used as insecticides while others have been categorized as chemical weapons.
Researchers have discovered a bacterial enzyme, phosphotriesterase, which can recognize and destroy the toxicity of a broad spectrum of organophosphate nerve agents. What Raushel aims to do is design and characterize bacterial phosphotriesterases that are better at detecting, destroying and detoxifying those organophosphates that pose the most serious threats to human health.
Texas A&M University
Raushel, the Davidson Professor of Science at Texas A&M, has been awarded a four-year grant of $1.2 million by the National Institutes of Health to carry out his work on organophosphates.
Organophosphates are neurotoxins - they attack the nervous system by blocking the function of the enzyme acetylcholine esterase, which carries nerve signals. When organs such as the lungs do not receive appropriate nerve signals, control is lost over respiratory muscles, and it usually results in death by asphyxiation. Today, some classes of organophosphates are used as insecticides while others have been categorized as chemical weapons.
Researchers have discovered a bacterial enzyme, phosphotriesterase, which can recognize and destroy the toxicity of a broad spectrum of organophosphate nerve agents. What Raushel aims to do is design and characterize bacterial phosphotriesterases that are better at detecting, destroying and detoxifying those organophosphates that pose the most serious threats to human health.
Texas A&M University
Organophosphates Current Events and Organophosphates News RSSFamily study bolsters link between pesticides and Parkinson's
For the first time, the association between Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides has been shown in patients with the neurological disorder compared with their unaffected relatives, according to a study in the online open access journal BMC Neurology.
Motor neuron disease and toxic substances: Possible link?
Motor neuron disease is a rare, devastating illness in which nerve cells that carry brain signals to muscles gradually deteriorate. One form of it, Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), is familiar to the public in the lives of scientist Stephen Hawking and Morrie Schwartz, about whom Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie" was written.
Malaria -- Effective insecticide-repellent synergy against mosquito vectors
The mosquitoes responsible for malaria transmission to humans belong to the Anopheles genus. One of the best known and most extensively studied is Anopheles gambiae, Africa's principal malaria vector.
Mosquito spray increases toxicity of pyrethroids in creek, study finds
A relatively benign compound contained in a widely used group of insecticides can mix with and increase the toxicity of existing pesticides in the environment
Variations in detoxifying genes linked to Lou Gehrig's disease
Genetic variations in three enzymes that detoxify insecticides and nerve gas agents as well as metabolize cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may be a risk factor for developing sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), and possibly responsible for a reported twofold increased risk of ALS in Gulf War veterans.
Four out of five head lice resistant to common treatment
Four out of five head lice are resistant to a common treatment used to eradicate them, finds a study of Welsh schoolchildren, published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Study of Latina women and children finds large variation in susceptibility to pesticides
Some newborns may be 26 to 50 times more susceptible to exposure to certain organophosphate pesticides than other newborns, and 65 to 130 times more sensitive than some adults.
Novel compounds show promise as safer, more potent insecticides
Research teams at Nihon Nohyaku Co., Ltd., Bayer CropScience and DuPont have developed two new classes of broad-spectrum insecticides that show promise as a safer and more effective way to fight pest insects that damage food crops.
Call for Change to Pesticide Build-up Tests
Current methods of predicting short-term intake of pesticide residues by humans should be improved, according to a new study published in the journal Pest Management Science. In the article, researchers from around the world come together to review existing safety measures and make eleven recommendations based on their research. Studies suggest that a single, or short-term exposure can affect health, as well as long term exposure. 'The publication will prove an invaluable resource for risk assessors throughout the world,' says UK team member, Dr Caroline Harris. Why it matters Pesticide residues from one meal, or over one day, can be much higher than the average lifetime intake - the consum
Troublesome North-American mosquitoes display resistance to insecticides
New evidence published online in Pest Management Science reports the first signs of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in a population of mosquitoes from Marin County, California. The species in question is not only a major pest, but also acts as a vector of West Nile virus, a virus that spread rapidly westward across the United States after it first invaded the new world in New York in 1999. The study, carried out by researchers in California, determined that the Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes displayed tolerance to pyrethroids, which are commonly used agricultural pesticides. Mosquitoes of the same species in Africa and Asia have displayed pyrethroid tolerance, but this report is the
More Organophosphates Current Events and Organophosphates News Articles
 | Toxicology of Organophosphate & Carbamate Compounds This text/reference book provides the most comprehensive coverage of anticholinesterase compounds (Organophosphates and Carbamates), which constitute the largest number of chemicals that are primarily used as insecticides in agriculture, industry, and around the home/garden. Some OPs (nerve agents) have been used in chemical warfare and terrorist attacks, while some OPs and CMs have been... |
 | The 2007-2012 Outlook for Lawn and Garden Organo-Phosphate Preparations in the United States by Philip M. Parker This study covers the latent demand outlook for lawn and garden organo-phosphate preparations across the states and cities of the United States. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 6,200 cities in the United States. For each city in question, the percent share the city is of it’s state and of the United States is... |
 | The 2007-2012 World Outlook for Lawn and Garden Organo-Phosphate Preparations by Philip M. Parker This study covers the world outlook for lawn and garden organo-phosphate preparations across more than 200 countries. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to... |
 | Measuring emissions of organophosphate flame retardants using a passive flux sampler [An article from: Atmospheric Environment] by Y. Ni, K. Kumagai, Y. Yanagisawa This digital document is a journal article from Atmospheric Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: Flame retardants are used in polymers to reduce the flammability of building materials, electric appliances, fabric and papers.... |
| Organophosphate insecticides target the serotonergic system in developing rat brain regions: disparate effects of diazinon and parathion at doses spanning ... from: Environmental Health Perspectives by Theodore A. Slotkin, Charlotte A. Tate, Ian T. Ryde, Edward D. Levin, Frederic J. Seidler This digital document is an article from Environmental Health Perspectives, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 5869 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation... | |
 | Contamination levels of selected organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in the Selangor River, Malaysia between 2002 and 2003 [An article from: Chemosphere] by K.H. Leong, L.L. Benjamin Tan, A.M. Mustafa This digital document is a journal article from Chemosphere, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: In Malaysia, rivers are the main source of public water supplies. This study was conducted from 2002 to 2003 to determine the levels of... |
 | Determination of organophosphate pesticides at a carbon nanotube/organophosphorus hydrolase electrochemical biosensor [An article from: Analytica Chimica Acta] by R.P. Deo, J. Wang, I. Block, A. Mulchandani, Joshi This digital document is a journal article from Analytica Chimica Acta, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: An amperometric biosensor for oganophosphorus (OP) pesticides based on a carbon nanotube (CNT)-modified transducer and an... |
| The use of a thermogravimetric analyzer for the generation of primary analytical vapor standards of organophosphate pesticides [An article from: Analytica Chimica Acta] by J.W. Boyd, C.K. Eckman, N.A. Romero, S.S Ramkumar This digital document is a journal article from Analytica Chimica Acta, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: A thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) was used for the generation of primary vapor standards of three organophosphate pesticides... |
| Variation in organophosphate pesticide metabolites in urine of children living in agricultural communities.(Children's Health: Article): An article from: Environmental Health Perspectives by William E. Lambert, Michael Lasarev, Juan Muniz, Jennifer Scherer, Joan Rothlein, Juanita Santana, Linda McCauley This digital document is an article from Environmental Health Perspectives, published by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on April 1, 2005. The length of the article is 6687 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it... | |
| Activities and Organophosphate exposures: need for the numbers.(Perspectives: Correspondence): An article from: Environmental Health Perspectives by Robert I. Krieger, Xiaofei Zhang This digital document is an article from Environmental Health Perspectives, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 642 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |